© thomasmayerarchive.de/Emre Arolat Architects
The Sancaklar Mosque is difficult to make out from the street. Aside from a few low, freestanding walls of black slate, only the minaret is visible. As tall, slender block, the latter stands out in otherwise austere surroundings. Its top is adorned with the superb calligraphy of a Quranic sura, which proclaims the greatness of Allah and shines when darkness falls. As the visitor progresses downhill – from the street to the courtyard – he or she will gradually comprehend the complex, and at the same time enjoy a grand view of the valley and a large lake.
To enter the community centre and the mosque, one first passes through the green courtyard. A small watercourse traverses this garden and forms small ponds and a waterfall. The scene is set by the black slate, from which the water gushes forth, combined with exposed concrete surfaces, wood walls, and green lawns. Candour and modesty are the two major themes of this architecture. The serenity and contemplation that set in as one experiences the courtyard are intensified upon entering the mosque proper. Men and women enter the building through separate doors. They take off their shoes in separate spaces, but pray under the same roof, separated only by a screen. The women are seated slightly higher than then men, whose largest praying space is stepped, so that every man and every woman can see the Imam while he gives the sermon.
Above them all is an elliptical reinforced concrete dome, and while they pray, they face a concrete wall that slants outward. This wall holds the mihrab, the prayer niche oriented toward Mecca. Via a semicircular stair and the only opening in this wall, the muezzin has access to the stairway and elevator that lead to the tip of the minaret. Particularly in comparison to the pomp of the furnishings oriented to mosques of the past, the Sancaklar Mosque is modest in the choice of materials, yet leaves a greater aesthetic impression. (Olaf Bartels)
To enter the community centre and the mosque, one first passes through the green courtyard. A small watercourse traverses this garden and forms small ponds and a waterfall. The scene is set by the black slate, from which the water gushes forth, combined with exposed concrete surfaces, wood walls, and green lawns. Candour and modesty are the two major themes of this architecture. The serenity and contemplation that set in as one experiences the courtyard are intensified upon entering the mosque proper. Men and women enter the building through separate doors. They take off their shoes in separate spaces, but pray under the same roof, separated only by a screen. The women are seated slightly higher than then men, whose largest praying space is stepped, so that every man and every woman can see the Imam while he gives the sermon.
Above them all is an elliptical reinforced concrete dome, and while they pray, they face a concrete wall that slants outward. This wall holds the mihrab, the prayer niche oriented toward Mecca. Via a semicircular stair and the only opening in this wall, the muezzin has access to the stairway and elevator that lead to the tip of the minaret. Particularly in comparison to the pomp of the furnishings oriented to mosques of the past, the Sancaklar Mosque is modest in the choice of materials, yet leaves a greater aesthetic impression. (Olaf Bartels)